


Stockholm Syndrome

by orphan_account



Series: Drabbles and Fics from 12/12 - 02/13 [5]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Proceed with caution, Suicide Attempt, general abuse, mental trama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-06
Updated: 2013-11-06
Packaged: 2017-12-31 15:24:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1033271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for Psychostriders AU where (for those unfamiliar) Bro and Dave are hitmen and Dave has a certain fondness for a black haired boy, so when John shows up on their list Dave convinces Bro to let him keep John around as a "pet".</p><p>In this story, John has been with the Striders for a prolonged period of time and has developed Stockholm Syndrome, a mental disorder where you become fond of your captors/abusers. The Striders are found out, John is taken from them and safely returned to his father, much to John's displeasure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stockholm Syndrome

**Author's Note:**

> When I first wrote this fic it was my pride and joy and the first one of this length that I had written in over two years, and certainly the longest I had written for Homestuck.
> 
> I actually don't remember if there were any hints of pairings in this one and I despise rereading what I've written no matter what it is, so, yeah, aha, if there is any bro/john just let me know and I'll tag for it or w/e.

Everything goes by in such a blur.

Before John knows it there are two men next to him. Two men who are dressed heavily in protective gear and two men who aren’t Bro and Dave. They throw a blanket over his naked body.

John panics.

The two men start shushing him and John knows they’re trying to comfort him because all they keep saying is "it’s okay, kid, everything is going to be okay." But how can everything be okay if John has no idea what is going on? 

John searches the room for Bro and Dave. He spots them being handled with a lot less care than himself and he now he’s gone way past panicking and he’s shouting "let them go" and no one is listening, why isn’t anyone listening?

When he’s downstairs Bro and Dave are being pushed into the back of an armored truck and no no no, John runs to the truck and tries to call for them, but he can’t get the words to come out he’s frozen and he sees Bro being hit with a baton and he manages to get a loud "NO" out before he’s being pushed away and tucked into a separate vehicle. Two of the armored men sit on either side of him in the back and John is pretty sure he’s visibly shaking. 

What is going on?

John soon realizes that the car is going to his dad’s house. His home. Then men guide him out of the car and to the front door. John can feel his palms sweating, he doesn’t even know how long it’s been since he’s seen his dad.

Surprisingly, he realizes he doesn’t care.

The next thing he knows he’s being embraced into a tight hug and the scent is so familiar and at the same time it’s not, but he knows it’s his dad. John doesn’t make a move to hug back, he just lets himself be hugged and when it ends he feels rough hands stroking his cheeks just beneath his eyes, and oh, apparently John had started to cry, but he can’t even think about that.

All he can think about are the Striders and how he hopes they’re okay.

The men in armor soon leave and say they’ll be back tomorrow to discuss legal procedures, leaving John and his dad alone.

John stays quiet throughout the night, his dad never leaving him alone and asking questions. John stays silent. Dad cooks John a big dinner, which he barely touches. The worry is evident on his dad’s face and John can’t bring himself to care. He goes upstairs to his room and flops down on his bed.

He dreams of the Striders kidnapping him again and when he wakes he’s disappointed to find out it had just been a dream.

Downstairs he can hear other people. He descends the stairs slowly and when he reaches the end everyone is just staring at him. His dad gets up and pulls him to sit on the couch and saying “good morning, son”. John stays quiet and he’s crying again. His dad holds him in a fatherly embrace, petting his hair and telling him everything is alright.

But how can everything be alright if Bro nor Dave are here?

He doesn’t say it aloud because his father pulls away and continues talking to a woman dressed in a suit. As soon as the Striders are mentioned John just thinks “I want to see them” and then everyone is looking at him with wide eyes and apparently he said that aloud. Some of the looks are out of surprise, others of worry.

His dad’s hands cover his own as he says, ”Son, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

John takes in a deep breath and repeats himself, voice more stern. Dad sighs and gives a hesitant nod.

John readies himself and they leave shortly after that, the woman in the suit coming along. The whole ride John’s leg is vibrating with nerves.

When they get to the station the Striders are being held at, John tells his dad he wants to go alone. The look on his father’s face is mixed with disapproval and worry, but John still can’t find himself to care. He briefly wonders if that’s a bad thing, but he doesn’t think about it too long because the guards at the station are leading him to the cell where the Striders are being held and his heart is beating faster and faster.

When he sees Bro and Dave behind the bars of the cell his stomach drops.

Bro is the first one to notice him and he snorts, grabbing Dave’s attention.

"Look who it is, it’s the pet."

Dave’s eyes are wide and John can tell he wasn’t expecting him, and wow, John doesn’t remember the last time he’s seen either of them without their shades, but there they sit. Shade-less and donned in orange jumpsuits, ready to be tried and sent to death row.

"John!" Dave snaps his fingers in front of John’s face through the cell bars. John realizes he had zoned out and focuses his attention on Dave. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you guys, again."

John steps forward, hand ready to grab for Dave’s, when a heavy hand is placed on his shoulder. John doesn’t have to look behind him to know that it’s one of the guards. He knows that much.

"Why."

Dave mumbles and it’s not even really a question. Not for one for John to answer, anyways. Why would John come to see him and Bro? After all they did to him. Why would anyone come back?

And then Dave realizes. They broke John. John is completely broken and Dave isn’t sure if he should feel pride or guilt. Happy that John would want to see him and Bro again, or guilt from the fact that they caused John to get goddamn Stockholm syndrome. He never wanted to break John. He just wanted a friend.

Bro strolls up from his spot on the bench and rests his arms through the bars, grinning.

"Mmmm, you missed us, did ya, pet? After all that we’ve put you through, you came back. Interesting…" Bro paused and pursed his lips, "I wonder, what did you miss most? Was it the way I fucked your ass? ‘Cause that is sure what I miss most, your pushing, your pleading, your begging strings of ‘stop’, your screa-"

The guard slammed a baton against the cell bars and Bro stepped back, hands raised.

"Shut up, you sick fuck."

"Easy, there, big guy. I ain’t doing nothing, just telling the pet what he wants to hear. Ain’t that right, pet?" Bro spat.

John’s eyes were closed, he knew he was crying, but made no move to rub at the tears. He was shaking, but he could feel his head nodding up and down, because yes, that is exactly what he wanted to hear, he had no choice. He never had a choice.

John found out that he liked it better that way when it came to the Striders.

The guards were now pushing John away, giving him no choice but to move. He opened his eyes to glance back at the Striders once more before he was led back to the lobby.

When his dad saw him he wrapped him in another tight hug. What was with all these hugs? John was fine, he was more than fine, he had always been fine, why couldn’t anyone else see it that way? Tears were nothing new to him, at least since he’s spent the past handful of months with the Striders. 

Dad’s combed his hand through John’s hair, shushing him, whispering “everything is going to be okay, son”.

Why couldn’t he see that everything was okay? John was fine.

At least he would be fine once he was with the two Striders again.

The guards were talking with the suit-clad women, explaining the events that went on. After she was done talking she strolled over to John and his father, telling them that it would be wise for John to seek psychological help. John’s father nodded quickly saying how he “knew this wasn’t a good idea”.

The rest of the day John spent in his bed, not even coming out for food. He was used to minimal amounts of food, which made his dad worry. John still didn’t understand why; this was normal for John. Everything was normal.

The next day was the court date.

John didn’t pay attention to much of anything. He was too worried about the outcome, so when it was his turn to speak he made sure he knew what he was going to say.

"Mr. Johnathan Egbert, is it true that these two men abducted you against your will?"

"No."

"You agreed to go with them and be locked in their apartment, then?"

"Yes."

"At any point during the time you spent at the Strider’s residence, were you threatened with violence?"

"No."

"At any point during the time you spent at the Strider’s rsidence, were you touched sexually without your permission?"

"No."

"That is all, Mr. Egbert, thank you."

John stepped down and felt his heart flutter a bit. There was no way Bro and Dave wouldn’t be able to walk now, John ha-

Smack.

"Broderick Strider and David Strider are hereby sentenced to death on accounts of an estimate of 50+ murders, kidnap, and rape."

Oh.

John’s eyes went wide as he screamed out a loud “NO!” how could this happen, he had denied being kidnapped and raped, he was the victim in question here, wasn’t he? Shouldn’t his word be the most valid? Nononono, this wasn’t right!

John ran towards Bro and Dave, getting a mere three feet away before stopped by a pair of guards.

John tried his hardest to push past them as he saw Bro and Dave being taken shuffled out.

Bro looked to John and grinned maniacally, winking in John’s direction. John had no idea what that meant, but maybe it meant he had a plan. John hoped he had a plan.

Dave, on the other hand, stayed emotionless and stared at the ground. He had expected this. He had also expected John to lie in court. Not that it mattered. Him and Bro were doomed anyways. 

John was being pushed away from where the Striders were being taken. He could feel tears welling up again. Or maybe he had been crying the whole time. He couldn’t even tell anymore.

He was led to the front entrance of the courtroom as everyone shuffled out. His dad found him and embraced him in, to no one’s surprise, another hug.

All of a sudden John felt an anger rise up inside of him. He pushed his away from his father and stepped back from everyone.

He screamed and he could feel the tears flowing down his face even more now. 

"Son…"

"STOP!" John yelled and he was sure he was making a scene. "Just STOP! Because of you," he pointed to is father and then threw his hands up in the air, "because of all of you," He evened out his voice as best he could. "Bro and Dave are going to die." John’s father reached a hand towards him.

"Son, those people are not good peo-"

"SHUT UP! Just because you don’t understand-"

"They’re killers, John, look what they’ve done to-"

"They didn’t do anything to me, they kept me safe, they-“

"Harmed you physically and mentally, they-"

"PROTECTED me, they-"

"They don’t care about you, John."

"Yes they, do!" John hesitated a bit. What could he say to make his dad understand? John’s heart skipped a beat as he uttered out his next sentence.

"They care about me more than you."

The look on his father’s face was heartbreaking. John almost felt guilty for saying that, but damn him if he didn’t think it was true. All his father was doing was keeping him from the people he wanted to be with.

John’s father cleared his throat.

"Well, then. If that’s how you feel… Then I respect that. You are my son, and I will always love you no matter what."

John’s father walked out of the lobby and to the parking lot.

John yelled and pulled at his hair, sitting down on a nearby chair. He just felt so… angry. Why couldn’t anyone understand what he wanted? Sure, the Striders killed a lot of people. They were hit-men, that’s what hit-men do. So maybe it wasn’t legal, but it was their job and they did it.

But John truly believed that they cared about him. They had protected him. If they hadn’t taken him to their apartment, then surely someone else would have killed him.

And they fed him. They gave him food every day. They let him sleep on a bed each night, they let him bathe, they let him do everything he needed to do in order to survive. What else could he ask from them?

Maybe the beatings could’ve been kept to a minimum, yeah, and the rape -John hated that word, it didn’t fit the situation, it was punishment. It was just like the beatings and smackings he received, just a little more… intense. 

But usually any punishment at all was deserved! Whenever he would yell and bang against the front door to see if anyone in the hallway could hear him… and even all those times he had attempted to kill himself… all the punishment he received was deserved, he knew it.

John sighed and got up. He found his dad outside in the parking lot and got into the passenger seat. They both sat there for a while before his dad started the car. John found it the silence to be a good time to murmur an apology, because, yeah, maybe he did take it too far. He knows his dad loves him more than anything.

“I just want what’s best for you,” he sighed. “I don’t like seeing you hurt, trust me when I say that. I want to get you help. Would you be okay with that?”

John nodded. After what he said the least he could do was let his dad try to help. John was perfectly okay and if his dad didn’t believe him, well, there wasn’t a whole lot he could do.

“Thank you, son.”

—

Night came quick and the Striders were being placed back into the cell.

“You’ll be transferred tomorrow, you twisted fucks,” one of the guards said. Bro nodded.

“Sounds peachy, duck.”

The cuffs clicked, unlocking.

“The fuck did you-“

Thwap.

Right in the nose. Dave pushed Bro aside as he attacked the other guard that was about to strike.

“Oof.”

Right in the gut.

A foot to the face and a kick to the side.

Dave snatched the ring of keys from the guard he had temporarily disabled and ran to weapon lock up.

Bro kneed the guard he elbowed in the nose and pushed him to the floor on top of the other.

Just as quick as Dave had left he returned, knucks on his right hand and Bro’s katana in tow. Dave tossed it to him and Bro unsheathed it slowly.

“Hmmm… hope you like waddling,” Bro paused and shoved his katana through guard numero uno’s foot, “…duck.”

Bro re-sheathed his katana and followed Dave quickly, who had located the back exit. The two of them ran into the night and headed towards their apartment. They needed to ditch the jumpsuits fast, so they headed to their apartment. They had a good five or ten minutes before the police would arrive there and start tracking them.

After that they had one more stop to make before skipping town.

—

John had cooled down from earlier. He had talked more with his dad and while neither of their feelings changed, they both understood both sides now.

While John’s dad cooked dinner, John sat in the backyard and thought some more. He had promised his dad he would go to therapy sessions. John didn’t believe he needed them, but he listened to his dad explain why he wanted him to go. It made a bit of sense, John figured. His dad said something about Stockholm syndrome and explained how it made the victim fond of their kidnapper. John still didn’t think he had that, though. He wouldn’t even describe his feelings towards the Striders as “fond”! He just felt like he needed to be with them to be safe.

John shifted in the chair he sat in. Safety. Without the Dave telling him about how they were protecting John, or without Bro telling John how he needed them, he suddenly felt vulnerable…. and kind of like he was being watched.

“Psst, John.”

John perked up. He knew that voice… or rather whisper.

But it couldn’t be.

“John, over here.”

John looked towards where the voice was coming from and in the shadows, just barely visible, he could see Dave. He was in his normal clothes, too, glasses sitting back on his face.

John couldn’t believe it. Actually, he thought he was maybe he was dreaming. He looked towards the house to see if his dad was watching, and when he confirmed he wasn’t he walked over to where Dave was. He hugged himself, unsure of what to do.

“Hi.”

“’Sup.” Dave smiled. John couldn’t help but smile back. It was weird.

“Is Bro-“ John started, but then he noticed Bro standing by a tree a few feet away. His smile faded, but not out of lack of happiness. He was thrilled to see the two of them. It was more because of the feeling Bro gave him. Had always given him. While Dave was always warm and friendly towards John, Bro had always elicited fear and pain. Not very pleasant, but needed. John needed both of them. They promised him safety so many times.

So when Dave outstretched his hand, John grabbed it and followed him to where Bro was.

“You guys got away.” John says.

“’Course we did. Had to come ‘n’ claim back what was ours, pet, din’ we?”

John’s stomach dropped in that oh so familiar way and okay, maybe the Strider brothers had messed John up a little bit because he welcomed the feeling back with open arms.


End file.
